The
Tower of Babel

Introduction

The subject of the Tower of Babel is very
important to us in our understanding of Creation. The events at Babel give us an
explanation for the various languages in the world today. It also reveals the
reason why there are so many religions, and the reason why God and His word are
still rejected by man.

One language

“And the whole earth was of one language, and of
one speech. And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they
found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there” (Genesis 11:1-2).
Over the coming years, since the days of the Flood, many people migrated towards
Mesopotamia (Babylon, or modern day Iraq), here they built a city in a fertile
area called Shinar. No doubt they had in mind a restoration of Eden, since this
is were it may have originally been situated.The language everyone spoke was Semitic (maybe even Hebrew), this means
that they fully understood what they were doing when they chose to disobey
God’s word and rebel against Him. The words “one language, and of one
speech” literally means “of one lip and one set of words.”What started out as utopia quickly became the first godless, communistic
state.

One foundation

“And they said one to another, Go to, let us
make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime
had they for mortar” (Genesis 11:3).
Nimrod probably became the head of state by this time. We read in Genesis
10:8-10, “And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth. He
was a mighty hunter before the LORD: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the
mighty hunter before the LORD. And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and
Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.” Cush was the eldest son
of Ham, from him descended Nimrod, the great rebel. Nimrod means “Let us
rebel.”His hunting was not just
for animals, but for the souls of men. He sought to turn people away from God.
The Jerusalem Targum has Nimrod saying, “Depart from the judgement of God, and
follow the judgement of Nimrod.” Notice
that Genesis 10:10 informs us that he was building his own kingdom, therefore
there is no doubt he was the dictator of his age. He was establishing a
centralised society in much the same way as the leaders E.U. are today. His
government would control resources and the workforce. A self-sufficient society,
under one leader, with no need for God. Archaeology has proven that this region
had an immense industry in kiln-fired brick and asphalt. Nimrod’s kingdom was
to be a satanic counterfeit of the coming Messianic Kingdom, for he had
established himself as mankind’s saviour. We cannot fail to see, in Nimrod,
Satan's first attempt to raise up a human universal ruler of men. There have
been many subsequent attempts, such as Nebuchadnezzar, Alexander, Napoleon, and
others. He will finally succeed in the person of the Antichrist.

Reach for the sky“And they said, Go to, let us build us a city
and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we
be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth” (Genesis 11:4).
They obviously became so experienced in building that they laid plans to create
the world’s first skyscraper. This tower was to be the focal point and emblem
of Nimrod’s kingdom. It would serve as the political and religious centre of
his utopian state. This tower, once completed, would make the builders famous as
the first men to go into outer space, or so they thought. God wanted them to
populate the whole earth, but they were determined to disobey and follow their
own plans. It is likely that the tower was built to worship and observe the
stars (and the fallen angels associated with them) rather than to try to
dethrone God, though Satan no doubt planted this idea in their minds too. This
is believed to be the source of the worship of Allah, the moon god. Many
archaeologists and historians believe that the Marduk Ziggurat in ancient
Babylon was known as the Tower of Babel. The ruins of this ziggurat still exist
in Iraq near the banks of the Euphrates. It is possible that the tower was also
built because they did not believe God’s promise not to flood the earth again.
The Tower of Babel (Babylon) was to be the beginning of Satan’s kingdom on
earth. The alternative spirituality was paganism based upon astrology (occult
and demonic.)

The Lord came down

“And the LORD came down to see the city and the
tower, which the children of men builded. And the LORD said, Behold, the people
is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now
nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do” (Genesis
11:5-6).
The plans of these people must have been so rebellious that God had no
alternative but to visit them with judgement. If they succeeded in building the
tower they would quickly advance and bring total destruction to the earth. All
they imagined (through demonic inspiration) was in violation of God’s command.
Nimrod’s society may have come to where we are today if God had not
intervened.

Let Us

“Go to, let us go down, and there confound their
language, that they may not understand one another's speech” (Genesis 11:7).
Here we read of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit speaking
about what needed to be done to prevent the imaginations and plans of Nimrod.
God would confound their language so as to make co-operation impossible. Every
one of us, despite our lingual background, thinks the same thoughts, but it
difficult to express them if the hearer speaks a different language to you. Not
only this, but there were no translators at that point! All communication had
broken down so that the builders could not continue with the project.

Scattered

“So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence
upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city. Therefore
is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language
of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face
of all the earth” (Genesis 11:8-9).
They were scattered despite their plans to avoid it. As this judgement took
place, it would seem to them that the whole world had gone mad. Every one was
talking gibberish and nonsense (Babel = confusion / babble). They had to find
those who spoke the same language as themselves and so banded together. Each
language group migrated away from that region until we arrive at where we are
today. Those who remained in Shinar
upgraded the name of the city to Bab-el “the gate of the gods” in further
rebellion against God. Just slight changes in language can make all the
difference. “I say potato but you say ….” As each family group moved away
from Babel, they would have retained awareness of the true God. This was already
corrupted by Nimrod, but would have continued to degrade thus forming the
various religions of the world.

Conclusion

There is much more historical background to Nimrod
and Babel than we can enter into in this study, but there are a number of books
that would assist you if you want to investigate this further. Every political
and religious notion (excepting Biblical Judaism and Christianity) can be traced
back to Babel. Is not politics confusing? Does not the fact that there are so
many religions cause confusion? Don’t we quickly become confused when visiting
a foreign land? It is all because of Babel. One day, when He brings in the New
Heaven and New Earth, the Lord will restore a single language for all people.